How to identify a Colnago Profil CX (Second Edition)

In the early 1980’s Colnago began experimenting with crimping main frame tubes to increase stiffness. Colnago referred to these crimps as ‘ribs’ in their early brochures. They also experimented with ways to reduce aerodynamic drag. The Colnago Profil CX bicycle is an early example of this experimentation. Unfortunately I was unable to find any mention of the Colnago Profil CX in any old Colnago catalogues.

Special features of a Colnago Profil CX

I believe the Colnago Profil CX was released around 1985, not long after the release of the second edition of the Colnago Nuovo Mexico, as it shares the same crimp configuration ie. a single crimp on either side the top tube and a single crimp on either side of the down tube.

Based on the images presented, the front triangle is the same as a second edition Colnago Nuovo Mexico whilst the rear triangle is more like a 1980’s Colnago Super with a central crimp on the inside of the chain stays and a spool shaped chain stay bridge. These features were not found in the second edition Colnago Nuovo Mexico.

The red lines in this diagram represents the crimp in the top tube and dual offset crimps in the down tube.

Aero features of the Colnago Profil CX.

The most notable feature of this frame is the shift levers are mounted on top of the down tube. The shift cables are then routed inside the down tube and exit near the bottom bracket. Commonly the fork also appears to have a slightly different profile and the crown is marked with ‘CX’ lettering.

Interestingly, the frame pictured features a braze-on front derailleur mount, however, the first version of the Colnago Profil CX didn’t have one, so either this was an ordering option or there was a design change between these two editions.

Cromovelato paint finish.

Many of these frames were also sold with a Cromovelato finish. This requires the frame to be fully chrome plated and then sprayed with a tinted colour coat (often candy red or blue). This gives the frame a reflective gloss coloured finish and would have been a considerably more expensive process due to the entire frame requiring an intensive polish, followed by a multi-step chrome plating process and then a spray paint application. Unfortunately whilst it is a very beautiful finish, it seems the paint was not particularly durable.

The following images are of a second edition Colnago Profil CX to show some of the design features. There may also be other variations in existence. Images courtesy of purgatorio.de

One center crimp on each side of top tube. Two offset crimps on each side of down tube. Braze-on front derailleur mount. ‘Colnago’ lettering in chain stays.

Article References.

Disclaimer!

Please remember that this information is only to be used as a guide. I consider myself an enthusiast, not an expert. The information I have presented in this article is based on my many hours of online research.

In addition, there will always be frames that don’t quite match the characteristics of a particular model as they could have been a custom build, prototype etc. Note: forks can also be swapped between different frames.

Comments.

I welcome reader feedback in the comments section. Should you wish to suggest an amendment, please include a note advising the source of your information so that myself and other readers can ascertain the accuracy of your information. Note: Trolling or argumentative comments will be removed as they are counter-productive.